


Love is Blind

by BigJellyMonster (orphan_account)



Series: Harry Potter Prompts [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blind Harry, M/M, Muggle AU, flower shop au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2016-11-10
Packaged: 2018-08-30 05:57:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8521090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/BigJellyMonster
Summary: Tom Riddle has a mysterious disease befall him that leads to his family disowning him. It takes blind love to see that he is worth something in the world again.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Hi, I was wondering if you could write a fanfic where Tom has a everything - he's handsome, successful - or his father is and he's the heir to the business, rich and even has a great boyfriend, Draco or something. But then something happens and he becomes snake face his boyfriend dumps him and his father might disown him so he's left with nothing. And then Harry could come along and teach Tom that he's still very loveable. But the thing is, Harry's blind. What do you think?

Sometimes, life was unnecessarily cruel. At least Tom had thought so.

His life from before was perfect. His father owned the largest housing company in the area. There wasn’t a family within one hundred miles that didn’t pay a large monthly fee to his family every month. In his youth, Tom thought his family had owned the entire world with the way people treated him.

As a family, they would go to lavish parties and dinners where they bowed and called them each by name when they walked through the door. He never had to wait long for something he wanted, it was in his possession within the next day; toys, cars, trinkets. Even when he first lusted after his boyfriend, he was in his bed that night.

It was a life of ease and innocence of the real world. He did not have to see the everyday problems that the world had to face. Sickness, disasters, famine were all just words in a book or a passing phrase on the television. He did not understand how cruel the world could be, but one day the truth hit him in a way that he would never forget.

It started off as a cold, or least he thought that is what it was. When his skin started turning unnaturally pale, he thought it was only temporary. The doctors did not know what was wrong with him, and had no clue on where to start.

Then, his eyes changed. The beautiful blue color that made people swoon where they stood, had turned to a dark and unnatural shade of red. When he looked in a mirror, the thought he was possessed by a demon from hell.

That is when his mother stopped speaking to him.

Not to long after, all his hair had fallen out. He screamed at the doctors to do more, but still they did not understand what was happening to him. He stopped coming out of his hospital room, in fear that the press or anyone else with a camera and a need to spread gossip, would see him.

That’s when his boyfriend broke up with him.

Finally, to his horror, his nose withered away into nothing but slits. He truly looked like a monster out of a horror story. He was ashamed to even look at himself, the image of his demonic eyes, and hideous face would give him nothing but nightmares.

That’s when his father stopped seeing him.

When the doctors where finally able to find out what was wrong with him it was too late; the damage was irreversible. His father had paid for the hospital bills but that was it. He had send him a letter stating that he would no longer be a part of the family. He was being disowned and everything that had once belonged to him, was being taken away and sold. His father threatened that if he ever tried to contact anyone of his old friends or family, he would be sure to “put down the monster that had destroyed their lives and killed his son.”

In the end, he was left penniless and heart broken. He dares not attempt to try and contact anyone he used to know for help, knowing full well his father would keep his promise. There had been too many people in his life that had mysteriously disappeared who had opposed his father at one point in time or another.

The first few weeks on his own, he thought he was going to die of starvation. He had no idea how normal people led their lives and was uncertain how to fix his. The shame he felt when someone would pass by him on the street and give him some money out of pity or hold their children tighter form the mere sight of him would make him fall into a deeper pit of depression and self-loathing.

A kind woman who had passed by him a few times on the street, took pity on him and offered him a job in her shop. She owned a plant nursery that she had been running by herself for so long, and had grown so much, she had needed some help. He did not work in the front of course; his job was to take care of the plants in the back, and to pass up inventory when needed.

No one was able to see his face, and he was able to finally make his own money. For the first time in his life, he had to earn what he ate and where he lived. It was something that he never thought he would have to do in his life.

Six months later, and he was living in an old apartment that he was sure had at least three drug dealers lived on the floor above him. Couples would scream and fight each other in the middle of the night, and promiscuously dressed women would leave their homes late in the afternoon and not return until early in the morning.

One day, while he was at work, he heard a strange noise coming from the entrance. A loud Tap, Tap, Tap, that got louder signaling the sources approach. To Tom’s horror, a man walked in with dark sunglasses on his face, black messy hair, and a cane in his hand.

“You can’t be back here,” Tom said while trying to hid behind the hood of his jacket. “The owner can help you in the front.”

“I tried asking for help but no one answered,” The man tried to explain.

“Sorry, you’ll have to wait in the front,” Tom told him.

“Okay,” the man said disappointed. “But… could you help me get there? This place is like a maze.”

Tom looked at the stranger irritated. The man had not walked too far in, and the door was only a row over. He was about to say something rather rude back to him when he had the sudden urge to hit himself.

The man was blind. Of course, the long rows of plant life would be like a maze to him. It also explained why he had not run in fear at the sight of him like most wanted to. “Sure,” Tom said uncertainly. “But…” This could be his only opportunity to talk to someone who wouldn’t be afraid to look at him, or rather couldn’t look at him at all. “I think I might be able to help you. What do you need?”

The man smiled and said “I have an order to pick up under the name Harry Potter? It was supposed to be some white lilies? I don’t know if they are ready yet.” The man tried to take a step but ran into the table next to him.

“Uh, yeah I’ve been working on them, but they aren’t ready yet. Sorry,” Tom said apologetically.

“That’s too bad,” the man replied sadly.

“I’m assuming you’re Harry?” Tom prompted, not ready to let the conversation end.

“Yeah, and you are?” Harry placed a hand on the table to gain a sense of where it was.

“My name is Tom, nice to meet you. Might I ask who the lilies are for?” Tom asked conversationally.

“My mother, she loved them despite the fact that her name was Lily. Do you know how long it will take for them to be ready?” Harry held the cane gently in his hand, his ear tilted in Tom’s direction so that he could hear him better.

“They aren’t blooming just yet, but they should be ready in a week or two, you are more than welcome to come visit them in the meantime,” Tom said charmingly. His looks might have become deformed, but his voice was still as smooth as ever.

“Aren’t customers not allowed back here? Won’t your boss get upset,” Harry inquired. “I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“Trust me, she won’t mind. Besides, there isn’t anyone else to talk to back here. This is the most exciting conversation I have had in a long time,” Tom laughed nervously.

“Well then, I would be glad to visit the flowers,” Harry grinned. “I will see you later then but, could you please help me find the exit? It really is confusing to me in here.”

Nervously, Tom took Harry’s elbow and carefully guided him out of the store. With a wave and a smile, Harry left him standing alone, his heart beating faster than normal. It was such a strange thing to be grateful for a smile and a conversation.

Harry made true on his promise and visited the flowers almost every day. He would stay for at least an hour, and would talk to Tom the entire time. Once, Tom asked him why he would put in the effort to come and see him every day and Harry replied “I’m blind, not deaf. People often yell at me when they talk to me or treat me like I am helpless. But, you are one of the few people who don’t do that. It’s nice talking to someone who doesn’t want to grab me and help me through every little thing. And you are rather interesting yourself, why wouldn’t I want to come and talk to you?”

Tom did not have a good reply to that.

Two weeks passed and as promised, Harry’s lilies were ready. Tom had made sure to take special care of them so they would be perfect. When Tom had finally given them to him, Harry had surprised Tom when he asked “Do you want to come with me to give them to her?”

“I’m not so sure that it is a good idea. People don’t exactly want me in the same room with them when I am around,” Tom said regretfully.

“Na, I’m sure she will love you. When do you get off,” Harry continued. “We can have dinner with her, she would be happy if you came. You hold onto the lilies and bring them with you.”  Tom wanted to tell him no, and stay safe in the back of the flower shop, but Harry’s optimism gave him courage that he didn’t know he could have.

Harry waited until Tom was finished with work. Harry held a picnic basket in one hand and his cane in the other. Tom held the bouquet of lilies in his. “Where are we meeting her,” Tom asked nervously, his hood pulled over his head even in the darkness.

“Its’s not too far, don’t worry,” Harry told him and guided him down the street. It wasn’t far at all. There was a good reason his boss had decided to set up a flower shop next to a graveyard. People stopped by all the time to bring flowers to their dead loved ones.

Tom’s heart clenched when he realized that was where they were going. Harry knew exactly where to go and eventually he stopped in front of a grave that read Lily Potter.

“Hi, Mom,” Harry said happily. “Happy late anniversary. I brought someone with me today. This is Tom, he works at the flower shop.”

Tom placed the flowers on her grave without a word.

“I got you your favorite,” He continued. “I also brought dinner. I hope you don’t mind.” Harry sat down in the grass and motioned for Tom to do the same.

Tom remained silent as Harry continued to talk to his mother. After the horrors, he had been through, he couldn’t believe that someone trusted him so much to be a part of something so intimate. When the tears started falling, they did not go unnoticed by Harry.

“What’s wrong?” Harry asked worriedly.

“How did she….” Tom trailed off.

“Car crash. She died instantly, but I came out alright. A little blind, but otherwise okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset.” Harry apologized. “What about your parents? Do they work in herbology, too?”

Tom didn’t want to tell him, but the innocence of his question made him think otherwise. He told Harry everything, from the disease, to his parents, to how people looked at him. The whole time, he remained silent, until Tom told him “I can’t be seen with you anywhere, Harry. I hide for a reason. I am a monster, and you don’t deserve to have your life ruined by someone like me.”

Harry’s response was to take Tom’s hands in his and kiss the back of them. “Tom, I can’t see how you look, but I know how your heart is. These past two weeks have been some of the best days of my life. You are nothing like a monster, you are the kindest, gentlest, most understanding human I have ever met and I would be proud to be seen in public standing next to you.”

“I know we have only known each other a short while,” He continued. “But, just because some idiots get a little upset by the way you look doesn’t mean that you are a monster. If they act like that with me then we can just tell them to go to hell together.”

Harry took off his sunglasses and for the first time Tom was able to see his eyes. They were horridly scarred. It looked as though someone had tried to burn away his irises leaving only whiteness with a small hint of emerald green. Harry took his hands and placed them on both sides of Tom’s face so that he could feel what he looked like. He slowly moved his hands over his eyes, his lips, and what was left of his nose.

“The two of us, we are going to give the people a shock of a life time together,” Harry smiled and wiped the tears away from Tom’s face. For the first time in a long time, Tom felt hope for his future and was so grateful he had someone to share it with.

The wind blew around them creating a gentle vortex that felt strangely like a hug. “See,” Harry laughed. “I told you she would like you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wanna send me a prompt? Find me on TUMBLR  
> Bigjellymonster.tumblr.com


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